


Shared Soul, Blind Bond

by MeikoMei



Category: Danganronpa: Other Chapter
Genre: Blind Character, DROC, Danganronpa Other Chapter, Danganronpa Other Chapter: Mischievous Fantasy, Daniel is Spanish, F/M, Mei is Japanese, OC, Soulmates AU, This may or not have spoilers, danganronpa oc - Freeform, mention of self harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-05 23:02:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18375869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeikoMei/pseuds/MeikoMei
Summary: Daniel is blind since birth. Nobody knows why, much less himself. But that doesn’t stop him from having a normal life. He did what any child: play, laugh, fight with his older brother for nonsense. Being blind only made him unique, special.When he was 6 years old, his parents told him an unlikely story, in his opinion. Each person is born with a soulmate. Maybe they weren’t meant to be a couple, but to meet each other. And the only way to identify your soulmate is through your skin. If you write something in your hand, it will appear in the hand of your soulmate.Daniel didn’t believe in it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [Alma Compartida, Lazo Ciego](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18508276) by [MeikoMei](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeikoMei/pseuds/MeikoMei)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya there! I'm Meiko and this is my first fanfic in AO3. And it's an OC fic... awesome, wow XD
> 
> To put you all in the situation:
> 
> -This is all set before the Killing Game in Danganronpa: Other Chapter. In here, you can see a bit of Daniel, the SHSL Painter, backstory, but set in a Soulmates AU, so those parts aren't canon in the story.
> 
> -Daniel has an older brother: Francisco César Martín González. But Daniel always calls him Paco. And Paco always calls Daniel "Bicho" (it means "bug" in Spanish). Maybe one day we'll explain the reason behind this.
> 
> -In this chapter (in the "Two years later" part), Daniel is 8 years old.
> 
> And I think that's it for now. Hope you enjoy the fic! It'll have 3 chapters for sure, and I'm thinking about maybe writing a 4th one. <3

Daniel is blind since birth. Nobody knows why, much less himself. But that doesn’t stop him from having a normal life. He did what any child: play, laugh, fight with his older brother for nonsense. Being blind only made him unique, special.

When he was 6 years old, his parents told him an unlikely story, in his opinion. Each person is born with a soulmate. Maybe they weren’t meant to be a couple, but to meet each other. And the only way to identify your soulmate is through your skin. If you write something in your hand, it will appear in the hand of your soulmate.

Daniel didn’t believe in it. He even thought that they were making fun of him, but it was impossible. He would expect it from his brother, but his parents would never do that to him.

Whatever it was, Daniel never tried it. It’s stupid. What reason would a blind person have to write on his arm, if he wouldn’t be able to read it later? He simply let it go.

Two years later, he unwittingly discovered his passion: painting. Ironic. He really wanted to learn to play the piano, but he didn’t want his parents to spend money on nonsense.

One rainy day, being bored without being able to do anything, he asked his brother’s for his set of watercolors. He laughed, of course, but didn’t deny it, and immediately they both started painting.

Daniel really didn’t know how to draw, but thanks to his other senses and the help of his brother, he managed to draw a pretty decent house, in the words of the eldest. He felt tremendously proud of it and, ignoring the stains of red paint on his skin, he grabbed another paper and repainted the same house, this time without help.

That same night, while preparing to go to sleep, he began to feel burning in the arm. It didn’t hurt; it just seemed to trace lines on his skin. Quickly, he grabbed a pencil and reflected on a sheet what he felt in his arm, at the same time reflecting it in his mind.

When the burning ceased, he tried to decipher the message. He was able to ‘read’ in both Spanish and English, but what he had just written was neither one nor the other. What was that?

Without thinking much, he got up with the paper in his hand and went to his brother’s room.

“Hey, Paco, are you awake?” He asked while knocking at his door. Almost immediately, the mentioned one opened it.

“Don’t call me Paco.” It was the first thing he said, giving a long yawn. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

“Yes, but I need your help. What does this say?” He handed him the paper he still held in his hands.

“Hmm…” Francisco grabbed it and tried to read what was written on it. After a few seconds, he spoke. “I think this is Japanese, where did you get it from?”

“Well, I wrote it.” Daniel didn’t need his eyesight to know that his brother was looking at him confused and, probably, with a raised eyebrow. “Let’s see, the thing is that I started feeling a burning in my arm and it seemed as if it was writing something, so I tried to transcribe it as best I could.” As he spoke, he felt Francisco grab his arm and lift the sleeves of his pajamas. What was he checking?

“Wait a few minutes…” He mumbled, letting go of his arm. In the silence, Daniel heard the unlocking sound of his brother’s cell phone. It looked like he was looking for something. The intrigue was killing him.

After what seemed like an eternity in which Daniel played with his fingers and Francisco continued the researching on his phone, the eldest finally spoke.

“Okay, if we aren’t wrong, I think it says «Petechia».” Daniel was more confused than before.

“The what?”

“Petechia. That’s the name given to the small red spots that appear on the skin, because of a subcutaneous hemorrhage.” He explained calmly. Daniel just nodded, as if he understood something. Francisco sighed. “Look, bicho, I’m going to cut to the chase because I’m dying of sleep. I think this has to do with your soulmate.”

God. It had been a long time since he had heard about it. He had almost forgotten about it.

“Do you remember the mess you did with the watercolors when you drew that house? You stained your face and arms with red.” Daniel nodded again. “Well, I think those spots appeared on the skin of your soulmate. If they are your age, I infer that they got scared and decided to investigate about «red spots on the skin», and the first thing that goes on the Internet when searching for that is the petechiae. I suppose they wrote it on their arm to not forget that word. But well, that’s just suppositions.” He finished talking, giving his brother time to process the information.

"And how are you sure they're my soulmate?" He asked, incredulous, but at the same time, quite curious.

"When your soulmate writes something on their skin, it's transferred to you and you feel burning for every written thing. I also have something written by my soulmate..." He was silent for a couple of seconds. "«Buy milk». I hope they haven't forgotten when they went shopping."

"Also?..."

"Yes. You have written on your arm «petechia» in Japanese. Congratulations! Your first tattoo! However, calm down. As soon as they get it erased, it'll disappear on you too. Can we go to sleep now?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Bicho" means "bug" in Spanish, and that's how Francisco calls Daniel (just in case you didn't read the notes at the beginning). In a lovely way, of course... or maybe not?... Nah, it's in a lovely way XD
> 
> Hope you liked the first chapter! Next one will be posted as soon as I finish translating it uwu
> 
> (More about Danganronpa: Other Chapter in our Instagram account @dr_otherchapter  
> Meiko's IG: @meikomei15_eng  
> Shine's IG: @kgoatred)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a reminder that the characters (Daniel and Francisco) talk in Spanish.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Every time Daniel started painting, a couple of hours later he felt a burning in his arm and, almost at once, he ran to ask his brother to translate what his soulmate had written. It almost seemed like a habit.

Once he tried to paint a large purple octopus. One hour later, the word «hematoma» appeared on his palm. His brother at the time advised him to be careful when painting, to stop staining himself. But Daniel couldn't help it.

A few months later he discovered that he was passionate about painting landscapes. He loved to capture the idea he had about how forests are, thanks to the descriptions that his brother gave him on some occasions. He tried to be patient and not get very dirty, but without really knowing how, he ended up with his face, arms, and legs stained with green paint. What an artist he was.

Fifteen minutes later, he began to feel the typical burning in his arm. Woah, a new record. He had planned to continue with his masterpiece, but the burning returned to his wrist. How strange, they usually only write one word. When he felt the burning for the third time, this time in the palm of his hand, he decided to put the brush to soak and give a visit to his brother.

"This means «hemophilia»." Francisco pointed at his arm and his younger brother nodded. In the room, only the sound of the mobile's keyboard could be heard. "«Hereditary disease characterized by a defect of blood clotting due to the lack of one of the factors involved in it and manifested by the persistence of bleeding.»" He read aloud the definition of that word because Daniel always asked for it.

"So if Mom has that disease, would we also have it? Since it's hereditary..." Daniel asked, curious

"I suppose so, but I'm not sure. It says that women don't have hemophilia, but they can pass in on their male children... Nevermind, let's continue, I'm in a rush." Daniel gave a small laugh as his brother returned to his searches on the phone, this time seeing the word of the wrist. "This one means «Cirrhosis». I don't want to search for it right now. I think it's a liver disease. And now the last one..." Francisco grabbed Daniel's hand to see the word written on his palm. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke. "«Leukemia»..."

"What is that?" Daniel asked after his brother suddenly fell silent.

"It's a blood disease... Your soulmate only writes after you start painting, right?"

"That seems so, although I don't understand very well why-"

"You're scaring her." He said without further ado. "You, at 8 years old, have high abilities and you understand everything right away. You even take advantage of all your other senses. I know it's thanks to your blindness, but bicho, you're gifted. Another 8-year-old boy would be frightened if they get spots in their skin and when looking on the internet, they get diseases everywhere. Will they even know what a soulmate is? Have you tried talking to them?" He spoke quickly, leaving Daniel surprised.

"W-Well, no. Since they only write in Japanese-"

Francisco sighed. "I thought you were smarter... Give me your hand for a moment." Confused, Daniel stretched out his arm and immediately felt his brother grab his hand and write something with a pen on the back of it.

«Do you speak English?»

Francisco started talking before Daniel got to ask him any questions. "Soon I'm going to university, so you can't depend on me to translate your soulmate's notes. And since I know you won't pay me for it, then we gotta ask them if they know English. If they don't, then too bad, you're fucked up."

"Don't swear, Paco." Daniel scolded him.

"Shut up, bug."

Soon, both brothers were laughing, but it didn't last long.

"Now let me continue studying. If I fail the test, someone will be left with no soulmate. Spoiler alert: It'll be yours."

Daniel laughed softly. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry, Paco. I'll try not to bother you anymore." He left the room, ignoring the cries of his brother, complaining about the nickname.

He returned to the living room, his «painting studio», and headed to the easel. He should finish the drawing, but with the interruptions, he wasn't able to remember where he left it. Sigh. Tomorrow he would start the drawing again.

With that thought, he saved his colors, cleaned and dried his brushes sat by the table to do his homework with his typewriter. He had a special laptop that his father bought him, but sometimes he just preferred to feel and hear the keys of the machine. It was quite relaxing, although his mother didn't think the same due to being prone to headaches.

Just as he finished his Spanish homework, he felt a familiar burning on the back of his hand. He followed the lines with his mind.

«Who are you?»

He wasn't expecting them to really know English. He can speak it himself and have a simple conversation, but it usually gives a hard time for the other children in his class.

What should he write? He needed advice, but Francisco didn't want to be bothered anymore. What should he do?

Without thinking much, he grabbed a pen and began to write on the back of his hand with, probably, really bad calligraphy.

«Your Soulmate.»

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like Daniel's soulmate is a "bit" paranoid, aren't they? XP
> 
> Hope you liked this chapter! Next one will be posted as soon as I finish translating it uwu It'll probably be the last one until I write the 4th/epilogue one (if I ever do)
> 
> (More about Danganronpa: Other Chapter in our Instagram account @dr_otherchapter  
> Meiko's IG: @meikomei15_eng  
> Shine's IG: @kgoatred)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: MENTIONS OF SELF HARM!!
> 
> Hope you like this chapter!

Two years went by. Two years where Daniel and his soulmate wrote to each other at least twice a week. They didn't talk much, his soulmate was quite shy, in his opinion. But Daniel was happy. He was improving his handwriting and his ability to read without being able to see. He even taught English to his soulmate, learning it by himself too.

When his brother went to college he had a hard time. He felt alone. Francisco and he used to fight all the time for little things, but they always ended up laughing. He missed the annoying Paco.

A bark interrupted his thoughts. Daniel turned his head towards his guide dog. They told him he was a Golden Retriever, but since he can't see him, he only knows that he is a big, hairy, very affectionate and playful dog.

Francisco gave it to him last year for his birthday, and he named it Bicho, in honor of the nickname his brother gave him. It was funny how his dog got up when Francisco wanted to call Daniel. He couldn't see it but heard the dog's legs on the ground.

Daniel smiled and reached for the strap. A walk wouldn't hurt.

At 10 he was already quite independent, in the words of his parents. He knew all the streets by heart, he knew where all the potholes and cracks of the sidewalk and road were. All thanks to his walks with Bicho.

Another person who was with him when Francisco left was M, his soulmate. He never asked for their name. If the whole matter of the soulmates was true, someday they would end up meeting without needing to know their identities. But he did want to know some nickname to be able to refer to them, and they only gave him a letter. Daniel decided to do the same, giving them a simple D.

M wasn't the one who started conversations. When they did it was because their older brother wasn't at home and needed to feel safe.

«Hi»

This must be one of those times.

Daniel decided to continue walking to the nearest park. When he arrived, he sat on a bench, feeling Bicho lie on the floor, and took a pen out of his pants pocket. He always used to carry a small notebook and two pens, just in case he wanted to paint or talk to M.

[Hello. How are you?]

He wrote calmly on the back of his hand. The response was almost immediate.

«There is a song named like that»

Daniel gave a soft laugh. M liked to talk about music sometimes, like him.

[One day I'll listen to it, just you wait. You ok?]

«Not so much»

[Why so sad?]

He knew perfectly well that M wouldn't get the references to his favorite musical, but even so, he was very excited to write them. He was very hooked on those songs. Immediately he began to feel the typical burning throughout his arm.

«My brother said he is not coming for dinner, and I am scarred.»

Daniel thought maybe they meant <scared>. They used to have several mistakes like that, but this time he didn't interrupt them.

«I do not think I will survive with out him. I have never sleep alone. What if I stop braking in the midle of the night? I need him, I am feeling alone. Can you...»

M kept writing all over his arm, but they did it too quickly and didn't give Daniel time to process the words. Random lines appeared in his mind, entangling into each other. He had to do something or his head would explode.

[I'm sorry. Could you rewrite that, but slower? I can't understand it.]

He wrote on his right arm, thanks to his ability to write with both hands. It was there when he realized a very important fact: he never told M about his disability. He never had to mention it because until then he had understood all their conversations.

[Forgot to tell you, M. I'm blind.]

He added and quickly drew sunglasses into the gap that remained in the palm of his hand.

M didn't respond.

Daniel spent all day worried about them. Were they offended? Would they be angry because he hadn't told them in those two years they knew each other? Did they think he was playing a joke? His mind was total chaos.

After returning home with Bicho, he put food, water, petted him a little and went to the living room to do homework. It was Saturday, but he preferred to do the pending tasks soon in order to take advantage of the rest of the weekend to paint. He loved painting almost as much as music.

However, that day he didn't feel like painting, even after finishing his homework, playing with Bicho, or laughing with his parents about any nonsense. He just felt worried and empty. M still didn't write to him. Normally they wrote him a <Bye>, but this time not even that.

With his glasses on the night table, covered to the neck with the blanket and Bicho sleeping in his own bed, Daniel kept his head up, as if he could look with his useless eyes at the ceiling. He didn't know exactly what time it was, but he did know that he had been in that position for more than half an hour. He had nothing else to do, but his mind wouldn't let him take a nap. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally managed to close his eyes. He was about to fall asleep, but something made him sit up suddenly.

He felt a burning in his arm, but it was not like the usual one. He felt as if he were being cut with a blade. It hurt a lot. He grabbed his arm and bit his lip, trying not to think about the pain. It stopped for a few seconds, but again that burning returned. And again. And one more. Four times he felt the blade in his arm, and finally stopped definitively.

Daniel took a couple of seconds to catch his breath and try to calm down. What the hell had just happened? He lifted his pajama sleeve and ran his hand down his arm, over the area where he felt the cuts. He was startled to feel four thin, straight and long slits. They felt like scars.

A chill ran down his back, and he was immediately afraid. He didn't know what to do. If it was what he thought it was, then M needed his help urgently. Daniel needed to help her.

As if by reflex, he stretched out on his bedside table, grabbed the first ballpoint pen he touched and went to work. He began to draw carefully beautiful flowers, taking advantage of the slits as stems. He made every leaf, every flower, every petal with great care. He didn't want the burning to do even more damage to M. When he finished with his drawing, he added a small message.

[Stay alive.]

He waited patiently. Five minutes. Ten minutes. When he thought about giving up, he received an answer.

«Dawn is coming. Open your eyes.»

Daniel smiled broadly and shook his head slowly. They got the wrong song, but the intention made him feel relieved. He wrote the last message of the day.

[Remember I will always be there for you. Sleep well, M.]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, "Bicho" means "Bug" in Spanish xP
> 
> Hope you liked this chapter! I'm putting the story as finished until I get to write the last chapter and epilogue.
> 
> (More about Danganronpa: Other Chapter in our Instagram account @dr_otherchapter  
> Meiko's IG: @meikomei15_eng  
> Shine's IG: @kgoatred)


End file.
